Each of us has a legend in which we are the hero with a victorious destiny

Julio’s life-defining legendary episode touched him when he was just a small child, when he lived with his immigrant family in their crowded house. One person in the family was mysterious and intriguing to the little boy, his grandfather. After his stroke the paralyzed old man was confined to a wheelchair. Julio was irresistibly drawn to this silent companion and did everything he could to make him say something or do something. He would climb on his lap and play mischievous tricks. But nothing worked. His grandfather didn’t speak to him; he didn’t even budge. Julio remembered with some guilt the way he had pestered the old man in his efforts to establish some connection with him.

This silent figure became the epicenter of Julio’s personal legend. He represents the mystery of unanswered questions about his past. He embodied the old country that the family had left behind when Julio was just a baby, and even though he was paralyzed, he was the Tree of Knowledge that rooted back to Julio’s source of life and growth. After he awakened to the significance of this legendary metaphor, he saw the wonderful connection between his past and his aspirations here in his new world. In his legendary quest, like he climbed his abuelo when he was a toddler, Julio could climb his Tree of Knowledge, becoming a victorious branch that reached toward the sky. He will never stop asking questions that will be answered through his newly found legend.